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The UK services sector has lost momentum, indicating that GDP will expand at a weaker rate in the final quarter of the year than predicted, new data have suggested.

Service companies, which make up nearly 80pc of the UK economy, grew by their slowest pace in seven months, according to IHS Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for October. The sector’s growth was at its lowest level since the snowy weather seen in March.

The PMI recorded a fall from a score of 53.9 in September to 52.2, implying a significant cooling off in expansion. It also follows similar reports of a slowdown in the manufacturing sector. Any score above 50 indicates growth.